Meghalaya seeks Rs.50,000 crore from Finance Commission

The Meghalaya government Tuesday urged the 14th Finance Commission to provide a special grant of Rs.50,000 crore to enable the state meet its liabilities.

"We have sought an award of Rs.50,000 crore including a pre-devolution of Rs.35,000 crore to meet non-plan expenditures and infrastructural gap in the state," Chief Minister Mukul Sangma told journalists after an interaction with members of the commission led by its chairman Y.V. Reddy.

He also said that the government requires an amount of Rs.1,987 crore for the state's normalisation of 11,000 government posts.

Sangma said special areas that require specific award from the commission were also discussed with it to meet the state's expenditure for creation of state disaster mitigation and management authority, and a state disaster management force.

"Implementation of the national food security scheme, liabilities of the state in pension scheme, establishment of courts besides the commitment made under the education sector and implementation of pay under University Grants Commission scale," he said.

He also said that the state needed financial support of the commission in creating infrastructure in the newly-created four districts and to implement the state flagship programme Integrated Basin Development and Livelihood Programme.

Reddy, who arrived in Shillong on a two-day meeting, will also interact Wednesday with chief executive members of the three autonomous district councils, chief executive officers of municipal boards and leaders of various political parties in the state.

The 14th Finance Commission would recommend on division of taxes between the centre and the states for a five-year period from April 2015 to 2020.

The commission which will submit its report by Oct 31, 2014 to the central government would recommend policies governing grants-in-aid to states and other local bodies such as panchayati raj institutions.